With today’s times and culture, our country and world is profoundly divided. Its easy to choose a side and get comfortable on whatever side you choose. I listened to a sermon by Matt Chandler for the second time this morning and it hits the nail on the head probably better than anything else I have listened to lately.
He talks about no matter what side of whatever issue you want or choose to be on, you will find you are right and you will find people who will affirm you and support you, and we can easily say that God is with us.
But the point he makes is that there is a third side, God’s side. Its easy for us to position ourselves and pull God to our side. But are we will to look and pray to God to see where He sits on the issues at hand and get on His side. Matt goes in Joshua 5:13-15 where Joshua is about to lead Israel and march around Jericho for 7 days and he is confronted by the captain of the Lord’s army.
Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” He said, “No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” And the captain of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. Joshua 5:13-15
I have been talking recently with the men in my men’s small group about how the church has let culture infuse its beliefs and way into the church instead of the church infusing its beliefs and Truths into our culture, which causes followers of Jesus to be on the defensive. We as followers of Jesus need to be on the offensive, speaking God’s Truth into the world.
The twisting of God’s words by Satan is what lead to the fall of Adam and Eve. Satan questioned and put doubt into the mind of Adam and Eve. We need to re-look at God’s Word, the whole Word, and hold fast to His Truth and not just the parts that are easy, but the parts that make us uncomfortable with ourselves as well. We love to quote Scripture, especially the parts that are comfortable or highlights sin in others lives, but its easy to leave off the parts which reveal the sin in our life. As Matt says, its easy to be a subject matter expert in the sin in someone else’s life, but we don’t want to go near the sin in our life. As I continue to study God’s Word more and more, I find that there is generally a command before or that goes with the promises of God. Its easy to claim the promises, but we don’t want to claim the command.
For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11
Yes, God does have plans for us, He is for us, He does want us to prosper. But we forget this verse was spoken just before Israel went into bondage for 70 years, we don’t want to talk about that part, because its uncomfortable.
If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:13-14
See, God won’t heal our land until we humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. Why would He heal our land while we live in our sin and selfishness? He can’t be in the presence of sin! When Jesus took the sin of the world in His back, God turned His face from Jesus. If God turned His face from Jesus, we would be foolish to think He wouldn’t do the same to us.
We need to self reflect at times in humility and mourning over our sin and go to where God is and not continue to try and pull Him along the way we are going.
I do believe God is still at work in our world today, I do believe there is still hope for change in our world today. But we as followers of Jesus, not just believers of Jesus, need to re-center ourselves on who God is and who we are as followers of Him. Its easy to be a believer in Jesus, but I believe to be a follower takes things to another level. We need to be in prayer each and every day for strength for each day, thanking Him for the grace and mercy He pours over us and pray for the wisdom to navigate each day showing grace and mercy to the those around us, standing in His Truth and not the truth spoken to us by the world.
Be a light to the world today, let others see Jesus in you today.
JER2913 